Summary

The twenty-first century is witnessing a resurgence and globalization of religion. Around the world, religion has become an increasingly more important and pervasive force in personal and public life, and faith and politics now play a powerful role in international affairs. Revealing the significance of religion in contemporary life, World Religions Today, Second Edition, explores eight major religious traditions as dynamic, ongoing forces in the lives of individuals and in the collective experience of modern societies. Covering historical details more succinctly than the previous edition, this volume features revised chapters on Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, and East Asian Religions and adds two new chapters, on Primal Religions and New Religions. It also integrates material on Osama bin Laden, global terrorism, the Iraq War, and other recent world events into the chapter on Islam. Moving beyond many books in the field--which focus on the historical origins and ancient development of the classical traditions of each religion--World Religions Today, Second Edition, takes a fresh approach. The book uses historical coverage of the religious traditions as a framework to help students understand how faiths have evolved to the present day and continue to have an impact on belief, politics, and society. It connects today's religions to their classical beliefs and practices but also shows how these religions have responded to and been transformed by the modern world. To help students grasp what might be "new" about the emerging era of religious life in the twenty-first century, the authors open each discussion with a contemporary scenario of religious experience that illustrates the tension between premodern views and modernity.

World Religions Today, Second Edition, includes a general introduction that provides essential background information for students. Incorporating many pedagogical aids--timelines, maps, illustrations, discussion questions, and a glossary of key terms--this edition also features approximately 200 photographs and two new eight-page full-color inserts. A Companion Website contains student resources including chapter summaries, self-quizzes, and links to additional sources. An Instructor's Manual (available on the website and also in a printed version) offers chapter summaries, pedagogical suggestions, and exam questions and answers. Ideal for undergraduate courses in world religions and comparative religion, World Religions Today, Second Edition, emphasizes the interconnectedness of faith, culture, politics, and society, providing a peerless examination of the diverse ways in which contemporary human beings are religious.

Table of Contents

1. Introduction

Globalization: World Religions in Everyone's Hometown Understanding Religious Experience and Its Expressions The Great Religious Stories of the World Modernization in Global Perspective Modern Colonialism, the Socialist Challenge, and the End of Modernity Postmodern Trends in a Postcolonial World Notes Discussion Questions Key Terms

2. Primal Religions

Modern Human as Homo Religiosus Hunter-Gatherers and the Prehistoric Origins of Religion Animism and Afterlife The Shaman Primal Religions and the Cataclysms of Colonialism Primal Religions Today

3. The Many Stories of Judaism: Sacred and Secular

Encounter with Modernity: Modern Judaisms and the Challenge of Ultra-Orthodoxy Premodern Judaism: The Formative Era Premodern Judaism: The Classical Era Judaism and Modernity Judaism and Postmodern Trends in a Postcolonial World

4. Christianity: Diversity and the Road to Modernity

Encounter with Modernity: The Fundamentalist-Modernist Controversy Premodern Christianity: The Formative Era Premodern Christianity: The Classical Era Christianity and Modernity Christianity and Postmodern Trends in a Postcolonial World

5. Islam: The Many Faces of the Muslim Experience

Encounter with Modernity: The Challenge of Western Colonialism Premodern Islam: The Formative Era Premodern Islam: The Classical Era Islam and Modernity Islam and Postmodern Trends in a Postcolonial World Islam: Postmodern Challenges

6. Hinduism: Myriad Paths to Salvation

Encounter with Modernity: Hindu Challenges to India as a Secular State Premodern Hinduism: The Formative Era Premodern Hinduism: The Classical Era (180 BCE-900 CE) Premodern Hinduism: The Postclassical Era (900 CE-1500 BCE) Hinduism and Modernity Hinduism and Postmodern Trends in a Postcolonial World

Encounter With Modernity: Postcolonial Confucian Economics East Asian Religions in the Premodern Era East Asian Religions in the Early Modern Era East Asian Religions and Postmodern Trends in a Postcolonial World

9. Globalization: From New to New Age Religions

New Religions New Age Religions Religious Postmodernism and Global Ethics

Chapters 2-8 open with an Overview and end with a Conclusion, Suggested Reading, Discussion Questions, and Key Terms. Chapter 9 opens with an Overview and includes Suggested Reading, Discussion Questions, and Key Terms. All chapters with the exception of Chapter 4 also include Notes.

Other Editions of World Religions Today

The twenty-first century is witnessing a resurgence and globalization of religion. Around the world, religion has become an increasingly more important and pervasive force in personal and public life, and faith and politics now play a powerful role in international affairs. Revealing the significance of religion in contemporary life, World Religions Today, Second Edition, explores eight major religious traditions as dynamic, ongoing forces in the lives of individuals and in the collective experience of modern societies. Covering historical details more succinctly than the previous edition, this volume features revised chapters on Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, and East Asian Religions and adds two new chapters, on Primal Religions and New Religions. It also integrates material on Osama bin Laden, global terrorism, the Iraq War, and other recent world events into the chapter on Islam. Moving beyond many books in the field--which focus on the historical origins and ancient development of the classical traditions of each religion--World Religions Today, Second Edition, takes a fresh approach. The book uses historical coverage of the religious traditions as a framework to help students understand how faiths have evolved to the present day and continue to have an impact on belief, politics, and society. It connects today's religions to their classical beliefs and practices but also shows how these religions have responded to and been transformed by the modern world. To help students grasp what might be "new" about the emerging era of religious life in the twenty-first century, the authors open each discussion with a contemporary scenario of religious experience that illustrates the tension between premodern views and modernity.

World Religions Today, Second Edition, includes a general introduction that provides essential background information for students. Incorporating many pedagogical aids--timelines, maps, illustrations, discussion questions, and a glossary of key terms--this edition also features approximately 200 photographs and two new eight-page full-color inserts. A Companion Website contains student resources including chapter summaries, self-quizzes, and links to additional sources. An Instructor's Manual (available on the website and also in a printed version) offers chapter summaries, pedagogical suggestions, and exam questions and answers. Ideal for undergraduate courses in world religions and comparative religion, World Religions Today, Second Edition, emphasizes the interconnectedness of faith, culture, politics, and society, providing a peerless examination of the diverse ways in which contemporary human beings are religious.

Globalization: World Religions in Everyone's Hometown Understanding Religious Experience and Its Expressions The Great Religious Stories of the World Modernization in Global Perspective Modern Colonialism, the Socialist Challenge, and the End of Modernity Postmodern Trends in a Postcolonial World Notes Discussion Questions Key Terms

2. Primal Religions

Modern Human as Homo Religiosus Hunter-Gatherers and the Prehistoric Origins of Religion Animism and Afterlife The Shaman Primal Religions and the Cataclysms of Colonialism Primal Religions Today

3. The Many Stories of Judaism: Sacred and Secular

Encounter with Modernity: Modern Judaisms and the Challenge of Ultra-Orthodoxy Premodern Judaism: The Formative Era Premodern Judaism: The Classical Era Judaism and Modernity Judaism and Postmodern Trends in a Postcolonial World

4. Christianity: Diversity and the Road to Modernity

Encounter with Modernity: The Fundamentalist-Modernist Controversy Premodern Christianity: The Formative Era Premodern Christianity: The Classical Era Christianity and Modernity Christianity and Postmodern Trends in a Postcolonial World

5. Islam: The Many Faces of the Muslim Experience

Encounter with Modernity: The Challenge of Western Colonialism Premodern Islam: The Formative Era Premodern Islam: The Classical Era Islam and Modernity Islam and Postmodern Trends in a Postcolonial World Islam: Postmodern Challenges

6. Hinduism: Myriad Paths to Salvation

Encounter with Modernity: Hindu Challenges to India as a Secular State Premodern Hinduism: The Formative Era Premodern Hinduism: The Classical Era (180 BCE-900 CE) Premodern Hinduism: The Postclassical Era (900 CE-1500 BCE) Hinduism and Modernity Hinduism and Postmodern Trends in a Postcolonial World

Encounter With Modernity: Postcolonial Confucian Economics East Asian Religions in the Premodern Era East Asian Religions in the Early Modern Era East Asian Religions and Postmodern Trends in a Postcolonial World

9. Globalization: From New to New Age Religions

New Religions New Age Religions Religious Postmodernism and Global Ethics

Chapters 2-8 open with an Overview and end with a Conclusion, Suggested Reading, Discussion Questions, and Key Terms. Chapter 9 opens with an Overview and includes Suggested Reading, Discussion Questions, and Key Terms. All chapters with the exception of Chapter 4 also include Notes.

Summary

The twenty-first century is witnessing a resurgence and globalization of religion. Around the world, religion has become an increasingly more important and pervasive force in personal and public life, and faith and politics now play a powerful role in international affairs. Revealing the significance of religion in contemporary life, World Religions Today, Second Edition, explores eight major religious traditions as dynamic, ongoing forces in the lives of individuals and in the collective experience of modern societies. Covering historical details more succinctly than the previous edition, this volume features revised chapters on Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, and East Asian Religions and adds two new chapters, on Primal Religions and New Religions. It also integrates material on Osama bin Laden, global terrorism, the Iraq War, and other recent world events into the chapter on Islam. Moving beyond many books in the field--which focus on the historical origins and ancient development of the classical traditions of each religion--World Religions Today, Second Edition, takes a fresh approach. The book uses historical coverage of the religious traditions as a framework to help students understand how faiths have evolved to the present day and continue to have an impact on belief, politics, and society. It connects today's religions to their classical beliefs and practices but also shows how these religions have responded to and been transformed by the modern world. To help students grasp what might be "new" about the emerging era of religious life in the twenty-first century, the authors open each discussion with a contemporary scenario of religious experience that illustrates the tension between premodern views and modernity.

World Religions Today, Second Edition, includes a general introduction that provides essential background information for students. Incorporating many pedagogical aids--timelines, maps, illustrations, discussion questions, and a glossary of key terms--this edition also features approximately 200 photographs and two new eight-page full-color inserts. A Companion Website contains student resources including chapter summaries, self-quizzes, and links to additional sources. An Instructor's Manual (available on the website and also in a printed version) offers chapter summaries, pedagogical suggestions, and exam questions and answers. Ideal for undergraduate courses in world religions and comparative religion, World Religions Today, Second Edition, emphasizes the interconnectedness of faith, culture, politics, and society, providing a peerless examination of the diverse ways in which contemporary human beings are religious.

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

1. Introduction

Globalization: World Religions in Everyone's Hometown Understanding Religious Experience and Its Expressions The Great Religious Stories of the World Modernization in Global Perspective Modern Colonialism, the Socialist Challenge, and the End of Modernity Postmodern Trends in a Postcolonial World Notes Discussion Questions Key Terms

2. Primal Religions

Modern Human as Homo Religiosus Hunter-Gatherers and the Prehistoric Origins of Religion Animism and Afterlife The Shaman Primal Religions and the Cataclysms of Colonialism Primal Religions Today

3. The Many Stories of Judaism: Sacred and Secular

Encounter with Modernity: Modern Judaisms and the Challenge of Ultra-Orthodoxy Premodern Judaism: The Formative Era Premodern Judaism: The Classical Era Judaism and Modernity Judaism and Postmodern Trends in a Postcolonial World

4. Christianity: Diversity and the Road to Modernity

Encounter with Modernity: The Fundamentalist-Modernist Controversy Premodern Christianity: The Formative Era Premodern Christianity: The Classical Era Christianity and Modernity Christianity and Postmodern Trends in a Postcolonial World

5. Islam: The Many Faces of the Muslim Experience

Encounter with Modernity: The Challenge of Western Colonialism Premodern Islam: The Formative Era Premodern Islam: The Classical Era Islam and Modernity Islam and Postmodern Trends in a Postcolonial World Islam: Postmodern Challenges

6. Hinduism: Myriad Paths to Salvation

Encounter with Modernity: Hindu Challenges to India as a Secular State Premodern Hinduism: The Formative Era Premodern Hinduism: The Classical Era (180 BCE-900 CE) Premodern Hinduism: The Postclassical Era (900 CE-1500 BCE) Hinduism and Modernity Hinduism and Postmodern Trends in a Postcolonial World

Encounter With Modernity: Postcolonial Confucian Economics East Asian Religions in the Premodern Era East Asian Religions in the Early Modern Era East Asian Religions and Postmodern Trends in a Postcolonial World

9. Globalization: From New to New Age Religions

New Religions New Age Religions Religious Postmodernism and Global Ethics

Chapters 2-8 open with an Overview and end with a Conclusion, Suggested Reading, Discussion Questions, and Key Terms. Chapter 9 opens with an Overview and includes Suggested Reading, Discussion Questions, and Key Terms. All chapters with the exception of Chapter 4 also include Notes.